The Main Verb

Sometimes there is more than one kind of verb in a sentence. There are auxiliary verbs , modal verbs, and main verbs (sometimes called full or non-auxiliary verbs).

The main verb expresses the main action or state of being of the subject in the sentence and changes form according to the subject (singular, plural, 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person).

Most statements in speech and writing have a main verb.

The main verb changes its form according to the verb form (perfect tense, past tense, simple tense etc).

For example:

  • Dogs usually chase cats.
  • But my cat chases my dog.
  • My cat is chasing my dog.
  • My dog has sometimes chased my cat.
  • But, only because my cat ate my dog's dinner.
  • My cat has been eating my dog's dinner a lot.

There are regular and irregular verbs.

 

 

Verbs